Pak Taliban on `revenge` killing spree in Karachi

Karachi: The Pakistani Taliban has begun a revenge killing spree in Karachi, with mostly ``anti-Taliban`` workers as their main targets.

The most recent attack was on Awami National Party (ANP) Sindh central working committee member Amir Sardar, 55, who was associated with the ANP for over 30 years. He was shot dead, along with two other ANP Sindh activists, near his house in the city, on Monday.

The Malakand chapter of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the killings, claiming Sardar was punished for his assistance to the police in arresting TTP men, reports The Express Tribune.

Sher Shah Khan, an elected representative from Swat in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly, said over 65 people hailing from Swat have been killed in Karachi in target killings, mostly at the hands of the TTP.

According to Sher Shah, militants fled to Karachi when the Pakistan Army and paramilitary forces launched an operation in Swat against the Maulana Fazalullah-led militants in 2009.

"For a year, they abandoned their activities and remained underground, but later, they started killing pro-government leaders and those who were associated with peace committees in Swat or supported security forces," he said.

Saifullah Khan, the chairman of the Nekpikhel Aman Jirga in Swat, said the militants began targeting influential people from Swat in May 2010, and have so far, killed over 60 people in Karachi.

"The militants have killed mainly those people who were associated with peace committees or those who supported the military operation," Saifullah said, adding that there was no doubt that they are killing people from Swat ``to settle score``.